


Tire

by Koschei_Oakdown



Category: Green Lantern - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 06:10:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18543901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koschei_Oakdown/pseuds/Koschei_Oakdown
Summary: Oh, no, there's only one bed





	Tire

**Author's Note:**

> Credit to DC Comics

It had been a long day and was stretching out to be an even longer one. Already, Hal had trekked across what felt like half the planet to find civilisation and he was falling asleep while he waited for Sinestro to figure out what they were going to do next. With flat rings and no batteries, it was kind of a hopeless situation.

Since Sinestro was there though, Hal was confident everything would be alright. What couldn't Sinestro figure out? Nothing, obviously, he was amazing and Hal was lucky to be marooned on this planet with him. If he'd been with anyone else, he'd definitely be a lot more worried, wouldn't be casually dozing off.

A firm hand rested on his shoulder, Hal forced his heavy eyelids open because he knew that hand. "I have convinced the civilians to lend us their guest room for the night," Sinestro explained, his bright yellow eyes the only thing Hal could focus on. "You merely have to walk a few steps, and then you may sleep. Unless you wish for me to carry you?"

Getting carried would've been embarrassing, so Hal answered by getting unsteadily to his feet and allowing Sinestro to lead him down a hall. As they walked, Hal found his gaze being drawn to Sinestro's back, to the way Sinestro's shoulder blades moved under the blue and black material. What Hal wanted more than anything was to reach out, to feel if Sinestro's back was as smooth as it looked.

Just as Hal moved his hand, unable to resist temptation in his tired state, Sinestro came to a stop, and Hal crashed into him. His outstretched arm wrapped itself around Sinestro's torso, the other soon followed and he buried his face in the back of Sinestro's shoulder. Now, if only he never had to move again, everything would be perfect.

Underneath him, Sinestro froze up, and it took a moment for Hal to realise, to understand why. Eyes flying open, Hal withdrew, stumbled back, an apology already on his lips even as naturally, he tripped over. "I'm sorry," he gasped out and was caught, a hand on the small of his back, by Sinestro, was pulled against Sinestro's chest.

Automatically, Hal hooked his arms around Sinestro's neck, so he wouldn't get left behind by the manhandling. Not to say he didn't like the manhandling because he definitely did, especially when he was too tired to move himself, every limb weighed down. Having Sinestro there to guide him was something he was really enjoying.

"Do watch where you place your feet, Jordan," Sinestro advised him, breath cool on Hal's face, they were that close. "I wouldn't want you to break your neck. In fact -" Sinestro picked Hal up, as easily as if he weighed next to nothing - "I will ensure you do not break your neck."

Since Hal was still kind of half asleep, he didn't mind all that much, allowed Sinestro to carry him to the bed without complaint. And really, how did Sinestro manage to make it seem so easy? No way could Hal have carried Sinestro with such ease. Well, maybe if it was a life or death situation he could've, Sinestro was actually quite skinny, wouldn't weigh too much.

The bed was surprisingly comfortable, considering the two of them had found this place in the middle of nowhere, and Hal relaxed back. Then he realised there was only one bed. Was he expected to sleep in the same bed as Sinestro? The idea was appealing, definitely, and that was why Hal was a little worried. He didn't want to bother Sinestro.

"I'll uh, sleep on the floor," Hal was quick to suggest, struggling to pull himself up off the warm comfortable bed and he was almost glad when Sinestro held him down. Wait, no, he should sleep on the floor, it was only the decent thing to do.

When Sinestro quirked an amused eyebrow at him and refused to budge, Hal knew there was no point in arguing further. "Jordan, why should you sleep on the floor when there is a perfectly good bed right here? Is this some human custom? If you really would prefer to sleep separately, I can be the one to sleep on the floor."

Quickly, Hal shook his head, he didn't want Sinestro to go anywhere. His assumption had just been that Sinestro wouldn't want to sleep in the same bed as him but obviously, that had been wrong. "No, you can sleep with me. Forget I said anything." The assurance did the trick, Sinestro nodded acceptance, and a few strands of dark hair fell into his face. Hal itched to brush them back.

Distracted by the strands of Sinestro's hair, the way they curved around perfect features, Hal was taken by surprise when Sinestro tugged off one of his shoes. "Uh…" Hal hesitated, glanced down to his shoeless foot before cracking a smile. "I don't think I'm ready for this step in our relationship, Sin. More wooing is needed before you start taking all my clothes off."

The shoe was placed aside, Sinestro gave Hal a questioning look. "Would you prefer to sleep with your shoes on then? It can hardly be good for the bed and it would hurt if you decided to kick me in the night." Already, Sinestro's fingers were on Hal's other shoe, ready to pull that off too.

What Sinestro was up to made a lot of sense and Hal relented. "No, you go ahead. Feel free to keep stripping me down." As Hal had expected, the other shoe was tugged off and he was lying back comfortably, watching Sinestro work. The expression that graced Sinestro's features, slight furrowed brow, lips pressed together, was absolutely adorable and spoke of his concentration.

If Hal wasn't so tired, he'd have forced his eyes to stay open, so he could continue to catalogue every move Sinestro made. He was tired though, and he almost dozed off again, aware only of Sinestro removing his jacket as well and pulling the blankets up over him. The light was soon turned off and the bed shifted as Sinestro lay down beside Hal.

"Sleep well, Jordan," Sinestro said, voice quiet but still something Hal didn't want to stop hearing. The accented English was spoken by Sinestro for Hal's comfort, he probably knew a lot of languages if he'd managed to communicate with the civilians who'd lent them this room. Unless Sinestro had been communicating with hand gestures. Was being so awesome something all Korugarians did, or was it just Sinestro?

Mind racing with these thoughts, Hal was suddenly quite alert and felt he'd never be able to sleep now. It probably had something to do with how every part of him was attuned to the alien beside him, he could think of nothing else.

With a sigh, Hal rolled over to face Sinestro who was watching him, the colours of his eyes, his face and the blue of his suit all dulled in the darkness. "I can't sleep," Hal confessed, and one of Sinestro's eyebrows quirked up again. "Can you maybe tell me a story? That helps, doesn't it? What stories do people tell on Korugar?" Did they have fairy tales too?

"On Korugar?" Sinestro's expression softened, of course it did, he loved talking about Korugar. Mostly just to boast, but it was one of the only ways Hal could get him to open up. "There are many stories. They tell of the righteous Korugarian race, the planet of peace and perfection…"

Into one soothing sound, Sinestro's words merged, as he explained just how absolutely fantastic Korugar was which Hal had honestly heard about a million times now. But would Sinestro ever take him there? No, of course not, no aliens were allowed on Korugar. So Hal was stuck listening to Sinestro weave tales of how magnificent it all was.

It did help though, and Hal was coaxed back into sleepiness. His eyes closed and he drifted off, into dreams consumed by one thing, the alien sleeping beside him. The curve of Sinestro's lips, his eyes, his face, how it all took Hal's breath away and he pined over it, a hook in his stomach that tugged painfully at him.

That pain darkened his dreams, Sinestro was always out of Hal's reach, slipping through his fingers, as hard to hold onto as water or fine grains of sand. And it frustrated Hal, he couldn't help it, fought with Sinestro over the stupidest of things until Sinestro was truly gone. Alone in the dark, Hal was left, and it had to be a dream, he needed it to be a dream, forced himself to wake.

An agonised cry was on the tip of Hal's tongue and his throat was sore, he might've already been crying out. But he stopped then, because Sinestro was right there, instantly recognisable by the murmured Korugarian words that just seemed to seep into Hal's muscles, relaxing him, and the fingers combing through the sweaty strands of his hair.

Sucking in lungfuls of air, Hal tried not to be too embarrassed, even though he could feel no judgement from Sinestro. In fact, Sinestro was totally cuddling him, their legs were entwined and part of Sinestro's weight was on top of Hal. It was not something Hal minded at all, he just wrapped one of his arms around Sinestro, held him close.

The Korugarian words stopped, but Hal spoke before Sinestro could say anything in English, "I'm sorry. Did I wake you? I'm sorry if I did. Maybe I should've been sleeping on the floor." If he had been, however, he'd have panicked way more because he wouldn't have had Sinestro with him. Waking to Sinestro actually being there had been so different, and incredible, Hal couldn't help but want Sinestro there all the time.

"You have nothing to apologise for," Sinestro informed him, lips by Hal's cheek. His fingers were still in Hal's hair but they'd stopped the combing motion, simply held still. "You cannot control your dreams and I hardly mind being woken by you, when you need me, regardless." Sinestro's nose brushed Hal's cheekbone as he looked up. "I had no idea you worried so much for me."

The pain was back, because Sinestro was so close but Hal knew it was only temporary. "You're all I worry about, Sin," he confessed, tone thick with his emotion. Never would he have allowed himself to say this, had he been in his right mind. But he wasn't thinking straight, hand tracing the curve of Sinestro's spine, the deceptive strength of it, because it wouldn't take much to crush every bone and nerve. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me."

There could be no mistaking it, Hal was sure, Sinestro had to know he was pouring his heart out. And his words did seem to be causing some positive reaction, if Sinestro's slight smile was anything to go by. "You're too kind, Hal." Fingers brushed Hal's hair back from his face and withdrew. "Sleep. I will remain here, with you. Do not fear for me."

Well, Hal wasn't going to argue with that response, because Sinestro hadn't yet disentangled from him. Hopefully, Sinestro would do as promised, stay right there, and Hal would be content. Even now, as he slipped back into sleep, he was feeling much better and this time, he didn't dream, just woke up to soft light on his face.

In the night, he and Sinestro had apparently moved around quite a bit because he was now pressed up against Sinestro's back. They were still tangled together, this was really the only way to sleep and Hal didn't want to ever move. Unfortunately, Sinestro wasn't of the same mind.

Before Hal really knew what was happening, Sinestro had squirmed out of his grip and he himself was hitting the floor with a pained thud. "Ow," Hal complained, ear pressed to the hard cold floor, already missing Sinestro's touch. "What's the big idea? I was sleeping. Mostly. Bit of warning next time would be -" On looking up, Hal's eyes widened, he broke off, the scene before him was such a surprise.

For some reason, Sinestro had Kilowog pressed up against a nearby wall, knife to the drill sergeant's throat. "You ought to knock, Lantern Kilowog," Sinestro growled in warning. "For all I knew, you were an assassin, sent to kill Jordan and I in our weakened states. Consider yourself lucky I did not stab you."

Obviously wary of the knife, Kilowog didn't fight back. A good move, Hal had no doubt Sinestro would've been able to cut Kilowog before the bigger Green Lantern could form a construct. "You're crazy," Kilowog accused, attacking with words instead of constructs. "I'm here to rescue you! Do I look like an assassin?"

There was a bright glint to Sinestro's eyes, Hal knew that look, Sinestro was about to answer back with some smart comment Kilowog would want to strangle him for. Before any further hostilities could take place however, Hal was on his feet, drew Sinestro back from Kilowog and snatched the knife from his hand. It clattered to the floor, out of reach.

"Hey, easy," Hal soothed, his arm around Sinestro's waist, himself pressed to the alien's side. Really, he was surprised Sinestro hadn't shoved him off yet and at the thought, everything that had happened last night came rushing back. Immediately, Hal was flooded with embarrassment, cheeks hot, and he struggled to remember what he'd been saying. "No need - No need to stab anyone."

Suddenly so awkward, Hal stepped away from Sinestro and rubbed at the back of his head. He could tell Sinestro was watching him though, he needed to put distance between them, now, figure out what to say. Maybe he should apologise, even if he'd already done that. For his thoughtless confession and too much touching and everything else.

Doing all he could to avoid Sinestro's gaze, Hal turned to Kilowog. "Battery," he demanded, gesturing for Kilowog to give it over. Once he had the green object, he shoved it in Sinestro's general direction who took ahold of it. "Charge up. I'm gonna -" Hal grabbed Kilowog, dragged him to the door - "go thank the civilians."

Not soon enough, Hal shut the door behind him and Kilowog, and he let out a tensed breath. "Phew. Hey, thanks for coming, Kilo." As Hal started down the hallway, he slapped Kilowog on the shoulder. "Sorry about the chilly welcome but you know what Sinestro's like. I'd be dead by now if it wasn't for him and his paranoia. He kinda has a point too, you probably should've knocked."

The floor underneath his feet was slippery, he didn't remember it being this slippery before. Maybe because it had been nighttime and he'd been tired. Or because he'd had his shoes on then, and now he was just in his socks which had miraculously not fallen off while he'd slept.

"Yeah," Kilowog grumbled in response, and Hal glanced back at him. "I figured that out when I had a knife at my throat." It was apparent Kilowog was deep in thought and Hal stopped to consider him. Kilowog stopped too. "What's going on with you and Sinestro? You barely looked at him in there. Did he do something?"

It was not something Hal wanted to think about, but there was no escaping it. Slowly, he shook his head and turned to lean his back against the wall. "It was me. My fault. I said something I shouldn't have and now he's gonna hate me. You know, the usual. I just - I can't control myself around him. He looks at me with those gorgeous yellow eyes and I want to -"

Interrupting before Hal could finish that sentence, Kilowog raised both hands in a gesture for Hal to stop talking. "Whoa, too much information, poozer. I know I asked but…" Despite the turmoil Hal was in, he had to laugh at the expression Kilowog was pulling at thinking of Sinestro in the same light Hal was.

Once Hal had finished laughing, was quiet, Kilowog continued, back to looking thoughtful, "He couldn't hate you, Jordan. I don't know him like you do but that's obvious. He was crushed when you wouldn't look at him." This instantly made Hal concerned, he hadn't gone and made everything worse, had he? Maybe Kilowog was wrong. Maybe Kilowog was right and Hal had acted like a complete idiot. Again.

"I gotta go," Hal said, and he turned back towards the room he'd just vacated. On the smooth floor, his sock covered foot slipped and he hit the ground hard, legs stretched out before him. This was very reminiscent of last night when he'd nearly managed to do the exact same thing. That time, Sinestro had saved him. Sinestro wasn't here now.

Two shoes dropped onto the floor in front of Hal, and then his jacket. Following came the green power battery which he caught and wrapped his arms around. He wanted to look up but couldn't bring himself to, eyes fixed on the battery.

"Jordan…" It was Sinestro, of course, Hal had already known that, the voice sent a shiver across his skin. "Why are you always in some trouble? And why -" Sinestro's hand shot out, he was on one knee, grasping Hal's chin and bringing the human's face up towards him - "will you not look at me? Have I done something?"

In Sinestro's eyes, Hal found the exact thing Kilowog had been telling him. Sinestro didn't hate him, was far more likely concerned he was the one on the receiving end of the hate and Hal couldn't help it, threw himself forward. The power battery clattered to the ground between them but it didn't matter, Hal had arms around Sinestro and felt stupid for thinking he could destroy this so easily.

"No, everything's fine," Hal assured, he ran his fingers over Sinestro's shoulder blade then glanced up to Kilowog who was watching the both of them in an unimpressed sort of way. Hal gave him a thumbs-up with one hand, behind Sinestro's back. "Just fine."


End file.
